Politics (or - why I don't vote, yes I said I don't vote, yes I am an American, and I'm still upset about Firefly)

This is gonna bump people from all different angles...

Ok, so I'm going to put out my thoughts very systematically.  Then I'm gonna soap box for a bit.

This may sound crazy to some people but, I don't vote.  I did vote in the 2008 elections but was uninformed.  I just voted Republican because I'm pro-life.  That's really about it.  I've thought about it since and I'm upset I didn't think it through before hand.  I head every 4 years that voting is often just choosing the lesser of two evils.  There is a third option though...not voting.

Here's my reasons.

1) I'm waiting for someone worth voting for.
If voting feels like choosing the lesser of two evils then I would rather not vote.  I don't want to put someone in a position of power just because they are not-as-bad-an-option as the other guy.  That's a pathetic excuse in my mind.  I chose not to vote in the 2012 elections because I watched interviews and debates with both Obama and Romney.  I chose to not vote for Obama because I did not like what he did the previous four years and didn't think it was going to get better.  He also pushed a lot of his campaign giving sales pitches toward minorities.  Now hear me out: I have nothing against minorities!  What I do have a problem with is someone vying for a position of power by using sales pitches and sucking up to a specific people group.  I don't want a president who is going to do what is best for minorities in the U.S.  I want a president who is going to do what is best for everyone.  And yes, they are two different things.

I didn't vote for Romney because of one sentence he said during one interview.  Sound a bit extreme?  Check this concept.  Romney was asked during an interview what his stance was on the legalization of marijuana.  It was a hot topic at that point.  He interrupted the interviewer with an annoyed look on his face and replied, "do you have anything important to talk about?"  I'm sorry, you're running for the president of the United States.  Your job is to lead and you cannot lead without knowing or caring about the people you're leading.  I do agree that at that time the legalization of marijuana was not the most important topic that could be discussed.  But it was what a lot of American people wanted to hear.  If the question is important to the people who live in the U.S. it should be important to the people leading it.  Also, during a debate Romney was told you will have thirty seconds to answer the next question."  He replied with, "I'll take more time than that."  Where I respect honesty, something severely lacking in modern politics, I do not respect the arrogance.  This is a debate setting and there are rules.  If he isn't willing to follow the rules to get the job whose to say he will follow the rules once he gets the job?

2) I'm waiting for someone that doesn't serve their people.  I don't want a president that will service a particular group of people.  I don't want someone that tries to benefit rich people, poor people, minorities, big companies, private companies, republicans, democrats, sponsors with fat pocket books, etc...  I don't want a president that wants to put their own agenda into effect.  I want a president that wants what's best for the country.  What's best for the country will not always be what is best for me.  I understand that.  But recently I have seen politicians throwing out sales pitches to a particular group.  They think, "I can't please everyone so I'll focus on enough groups to get me the votes."  That doesn't help.  It perpetuates the ind of bigoted thinking that separates the American people culturally, racially, economically, and otherwise.  It does not promote unity.  And this isn't called the Divided States of America.  Just sayin...

3) I don't think it really matters.  Yes, I understand that presidents choose other people that swing power that get some laws made that affects people but for how long?  At most, a president is in office for eight years.  The established system simply does not allow for massively influential changes to happen that quickly.  The system is designed to keep things as middle as possible.  And I don't care if anyone reading this doesn't feel that way.  It's true.  yes it swings one way or the other every now and then but then it always swings back.  Look back and look ahead.  Get your head stuck out of this past weekend.  Everything averages out.  Things have come into play since Obama has been president that I do not agree with and I believe have been hurting the country.  I give it another eight years before they are undone and something else is put into play.  Everything bounces back.  When it doesn't is when we will have a problem.

Side note.

To the people who were saying at the beginning of Obama's term (and to other people who have undoubtedly said similar things about other presidents at the beginning of their terms) that he should be given more power to do what he wants and that congress is mean for fighting against his ideas: I cannot put into words how profoundly ignorant that is.  Seriously?  Give one man more power so he can do what he wants?  Just because you think it's a good idea?  What if it was the other way around?  Did you ever consider that?  Did you forget entirely the reason the United States of America was founded?  Do you honestly think that any one man is competent enough or caring enough to run an entire country, and an important world power at that, without being challenged?  Granted, the game of politics is rude and people from one party will deny actions proposed by the other party for no other reason than the names of the people supporting it.  That's unfair and childish.  It's pathetic.  But you really think the reasonable response to that is to eliminate opposition and just hand out more power?

Too much stupid...

End side note.

My end points are: what's going to happen is going to happen, I hate the game of politics and am tired of people who play it, and I don't have to vote.  Voting is a privilege, not a requirement.

I said once that I didn't vote because I didn't really care who was president.  Same difference to me.  And the response that was thrown back at me was, "well what if everyone felt that way."  My response is, "who cares if everyone feels that way?"  Voting is for people who care.  That's the point.  Ever voted on what ind of pizza you wanted and you liked both options?  Didn't like either option?  Did you vote?  Just sayin...  I don't care who is in office.  What's more, I don't want either person in office!  So why would I vote?  What sense does it make for me to vote when I don't want either person?

"Then why don't you vote before then for the Republican/Democratic party runner?"

Because I still don't care.  And it requires more research and effort than I really want to put into it.  My life is too busy too put the appropriate research into every person running for president.  Especially in this age of information.  Is it easier to get information now than it was?  Yes.  Is it easier than it used to be to lie and spew out revolting amounts of mindless propaganda to sway those of the populace waiting to be force fed a sales pitch that agrees with what they already think instead of challenging them to think?  Also yes.

Was that harsh?  Maybe.  Was it honest?  Definitely.

All the research to find someone I want as president only to see someone else within the next eight years.  No thanks.  I'd rather play Dark Souls.

(Dark Souls is an epic game of futility that makes you go through endless hours of trial and error just to kill you in a way you couldn't have predicted but is strangely fun so you keep playing it.)

Here's a few things to keep in mind during the upcoming voting season.

Any meme made about the opposing party could be made about yours.  Neither party, Republican of Democrat, is exempt from stupid people.  Don't bother pretending otherwise.

Liberal and conservative are relative terms.  Everyone is a liberal to someone and a conservative to someone else.  It's a flimsy label and should not be leaned on.

News stations are not concerned with telling the truth.  The are concerned with telling some of the truth.  And telling some of the truth for the purposes of swaying opinions or appeasing sponsors is no better than lying.  The truth is not the truth until it is shared in its entirety.  Don't bother trusting any one source of information.  Double and triple check information before running with it.  And don't check information from three different sources with the same political bent.  That's also worthless.  Check information from a more liberal source, from a more conservative source, and from a source that tries it's best to stay neutral.  Whatever information intersects between those is the most plausible.

Also never listen to anything said on Fox.  They canceled Firefly which makes them immortally stupid and untrustworthy.

I'm kind of kidding...

Don't take things out of context.  Quotes make more sense and often have a completely different meaning when in context of the entire conversation.

All memes are taken out of context.

Memes are a REALLY BAD place to get your political information and statistics.

Political statistics are often bogus.  Now, I know people who work with statistics and I don't want to offend what they do and make it seem unimportant or false.  But most of the statistics you see going around political parties and supporting social ideas are a part of a whole and have been skewed to serve a purpose instead of telling the truth.  It is very difficult to tell truth using statistics unless you are asking very specific questions.  Any time you put the human equation into the mix it gums things up and bogs things down.  You can see one of my earlier posts about racism and police brutality for examples of tweaked statistics.

Here's the thing.  I'm cynical.  I don't appreciate sales pitches and people who think I'm stupid enough to eat their sales pitch without confirming it.  The way I see it, politicians are little better than salesmen.  I just get irritated listening to political debates where people are asked questions and don't answer them then get this smug look on their face like, "yes, I am that awesome."  Bleagh...

I'm not a republican and I'm not a democrat.  (hopefully that's clear by now)  I do not believe either party has everything figured out or that either party has more figured out than the other.  Therefore, I do not associate with either.

I am pro-life.  As a former fetus, I am pro-life.  Honestly I could write an entirely separate post on just my thoughts about this but I'm going to simplify.  If you get two people from opposite sides of this argument that are sensible enough to genuinely debate the topic it comes down to one issue.  Is a fetus alive?  From anything I've ever heard or read I believe the answer is yes.  My personal convictions say that efforts should always be made to preserve life.  Especially life that has not yet had a say whether or not it wants to exist.  I do not believe we have the right to choose for someone else.

[The following is not as "nice" as usual.  I will state beforehand that if you have a different opinion about the following topic and can explain to me who/how I am wrong I will gladly hear it and change my thinking!  The following is my thoughts on the subject.  They are thought through as best as I can.  This is not ignorance speaking despite the fact it is posted on the internet.]

I am also pro-flat-taxes.  (that's a word now)  By that I mean I think it is ludicrous, short sighted, selfish, and downright mean to tax rich people more.  I have yet to hear a good argument for it and my common sense and though experiments also fail to turn up anything good.

"They have more money and more taxes will do more."  Let me introduce how percentages work.  10% of 10 is 1.  10% of 100 is 10.  10 is more than 1.  The same percentage out of a higher number equals a higher number.  You don't have to tax a higher percentage of people with more money to get more money out of them.

Why take money away from people who are making profit, and a lot of it, and give it to people who cannot keep a budget together? (that would be the U.S. government) What would the government need with the money?  Make more jobs to stimulate the economy you say?  Ah, yes.  Because large corporations making significant profit usually do what they can to stay stagnant, not expand, and thereby limit the amount of jobs available.

That was sarcasm.  If I'm to be honest, it was biting sarcasm.

Also, I am poor so I feel I have the freedom to say this stuff.  If I was rich I wouldn't be able to talk because it would be "in my own interest."  Well it isn't.  So there. :P

Well now I have a headache.  So I am going to get off and have some water and not think about elections of politics for the rest of the evening...until I get on Facebook.  sigh...

Cynic (or - complaining, baseless accusations, white rappers, and I'm still sore about Fox canceling Firefly...)

You know the feeling you get when you're walking through a used car lot and everyone you see is wearing a uniform with the name of the company selling said used cars?  And they are all smiling at you.  They are all trying to start up a conversation.  But you don't really want to talk to any of them because you are pretty sure you don't want to hear what they want to say.  But the reason you don't want to hear it is because you already don't believe it.  They haven't said anything, but you already know you're not gonna buy anything that comes out of their face.

Or when you're at a kiosk in the mall and the guy is trying to sell you that little piece of plastic to go on your phone.  Or the warranty on your microwave.  Or the homemade off-brand of...whatever.

You just know there is some other reason behind what they are saying, behind what they are selling.

That's what it feels like to be a cynic.

Jeez, I phrased that like it's a medical condition...

Ok, being cynical is a choice.  But that's not the point!  I'm avoiding that point to make what I feel like is a better point because the point is pointed at me.  I want to do the pointing.  Pointing outward.

So here's the point...

Honestly, it's not as bad as all that.  I, personally, do give people the benefit of the doubt when I don't know them.  Unless they are literally a sales person.  Or politician.  Which is just like a sales person except they have the power to change the sales tax.  More on that later...

However, it is difficult for me to take people seriously when they are trying to be nice to me.  If it's just a casual nicety I just assume they are following social etiquette and trying not to be rude.  Which I can appreciate.  Rude is annoying.  But punching rude people in the face is also rude and is proper grounds for a lawsuit which puts me in a pickle.

Being cynical is like pretending to have superpowers but without the actual ability of telepathy.  It's like shaving my head, wearing a suit, and rolling around in a wheelchair talking like an old English guy for no apparent reason.

Me: "No, no, I can't actually read your minds.  But it's fun to think I can and it makes me feel safe by keeping you at a distance based of baseless accusations."

Others: [confused stare]

Me: "Stop judging me."

Others: "I'm not."

Me: "I don't believe you!"  [rolls away thinking "I can feel the judgement!"]

It's sad, really.

John Reuben in his song "Sales Pitch" off the album Boy Vs. the Cynic" phrased it very well.


"Everyone’s got a hidden agenda watch them push it on you 
Everyone’s got a hidden agenda don’t pretend not to It’s a battle for your mind and a battle for your pocket book They’ll play on your emotions until your heart is hooked Reel them in tell them what’s your intent No mr. salesman you don’t have my confidence See I’m not sure if I can trust your heart So don’t feed me your lies disguised in sheep guard Everyone’s got an agenda can you tell me what for Everyone’s got an agenda can you tell me what’s yours From the liberal media to the conservative core From politics to the dude trying to play it cool on the dance floor Its human nature runs deep and reeks of secrets No matter how hard you try no man can keep it For a time maybe but one day you’re gonna have to face it And when that time comes you won’t be able to fake it"

This is how it feels.  I don't reserve cynicism for Hollywood, or liberals, or conservatives, or musicians, or cooks, or neighbors.  I'm an equal opportunist. :P

Honestly though, I don't just walk around judging everyone and disbelieving everything everyone tells me.  Wanna take a sec and make that clear!  I know a lot of wonderful people that I trust.  I was much more cynical back in high school cuz...well...I was in high school.  I mean, what can I say, right?  My cynicism is largely directed toward organizations now instead of people.  So don't feel bad if you're reading this! :D

And to be truly honest, I don't believe organizations.  I don't believe slogans.  I don't believe sales pitches.  I do not believe companies that say, "Our number one goal is customer satisfaction."  That's a great idea and it's a good way to get people to look at what you do as a company but it simply isn't true.  The number one goal of every company that is currently functional is making profit.  Unless, you know, it's a non-profit organization.

Customer service is a number two priority at best for any successful company.  Having a boat full of happy customers will not keep your company from bankruptcy.  Just saying...

I also do not trust politicians.  I mean, seriously, have people really not figured out how it works?  I mean that's like someone in retail walking up to you and saying, "Hey, if you sign up for a [clothing store] credit card I might win a 100$ bonus at the end of the month!  Oh, and you can get cool stuff too I guess."

They don't know me.  How could they really know and want what's best for me?  They don't.  I mean, they don't wish harm on me.  They aren't evil.  (close but technically not evil)  But let's be honest, they don't really care.  They want votes.  They want what's best for their supporters so they can get more money to campaign and get a job.  And not that all politicians are lackadaisical in the office.  Lots of presidents have done good things for this country.  But really, if you want to do good and make a difference in the country, being a president is one of the least effective positions you can work from.  Just look at any of the last several presidents for examples!

As a side note, no one has room to rant about republicans vs. democrats and blocking what the others want in office.  George Bush Sr got ripped off by democrats and Barack Obama got ripped off by republicans.  It's a tie.  Everyone sucks.  Get over it.

Aaaaaaaand we're back!

I don't trust news agencies.  News stations aren't concerned with telling people what's going on.  They just want to tell people what they already know.  People want to hear the same old garbage over and over again so the news agencies rush to get the newest recycled garbage out there.  Newest rehash, increased ratings, increased paycheck, there you have it.

Also I don't trust Fox because they canceled Firefly.

Still sore about that...

I don't trust the Academy Awards.  Those have been a joke for a long time.  It's political.  It is, and it's obvious.

I don't trust the Olympics.  Anyone else watch the recent one in Russia.  Just sayin...

I don't trust any company that gives out rebates.  Anyone who has tried to cash in on a rebate will side with me on that.

And this is the saddest: I don't trust the American government.  I do not believe that the government has my best interest in mind.  I don't believe it even has the general public's best interest in mind.  I don't have much reason to believe they have anyone in mind other than themselves.  Trying to keep themselves clean and well paid.

Here's the funny thing though, I do not believe in most, if any, conspiracy theories.

I know!  I don't get it either.

To be honest, I don't think you could get enough people smart enough or capable enough to pull off something as wide-spread as the Illuminati and get away with it.  I just don't have enough faith in humanity to pull off a stunt that size.

So there's a little paradox to chew on.

I do not encourage cynicism.  I do not believe it is healthy.  It does make for some great short story material.  And, if used correctly, can begin to resemble precaution.  But it usually doesn't.

Anyway, it's late, I'm tired of negative vibe ranting, and my back is sore.  I'm going to bed now.

Point_of_it_all (or - =IF(X=BETTER_FOR_ALL_TRUE,"Love",=IF(X=BETTER_FOR_ALL_FALSE,"Not Love","Abyss")) )

People.

Flopping around on this little blue planet pretending like we know what we are doing.

Like the proverbial Darwin fish crawling out of the sludge of the beginning declaring, "Look how far I've come!"  but failing to take in the expanse before it.

Beautiful, organic machines built to run off and respond to a million inputs a minute.  Beautiful, sentient ghosts that can dream, live, and love.

We are the ghosts.  We are the machines.  We are our own entities.

Capable of writing our own segments of code.  Capable of understanding the code of this expanse, this existence, this reality we call "universe".  We can see the gears turning.  We can hear the parts moving.  We can sense the data flowing.  Alive.  Cohesive.

Yet we do nothing to understand its purpose or further its cause.

Capable of so much yet we give up the command keys to whoever will shut us off quietly and peacefully.  But only the way we want.

But we want for nothing...

We allow ourselves to drop to our base base functions and slowly slide through this sad little instance of existence we call "life".  Then it's gone.

With all our capabilities we try to dismiss the obvious and declare, "There is nothing!"  We have lost the point of it all because we had it but we threw it out the window and turned around.  We slapped our hands, still warm from the point of it all, and screamed to an empty room, "I don't know where it went!" or worse yet, "It was never here!"

Blasphemy!

No one writes code for it to float in the abyss and rot.  Neither does code write itself to sit in the abyss.  The abyss does not abide the pointless code.  The abyss exists to be filled.

And it's bursting at the brim.

Nothing in our known reality exists without reason.  Everything fits into the program, the machine, the system of everything.  Reason is purpose.  Purpose implies design.  Design implies intelligence.

Man made machines.  The machines cannot surpass man because man made them.  Man is incapable of making its equal let alone its superior.  We made the machines that are less than us yet mimic us.  They can look like us.  They can sound like us.  They can do things we can do.  But they cannot make themselves.  What they make is less than them which is less than us.

Continue walking backward...

Man is the organic machine then who is the operator?

Man did not make man.  Man cannot make man.  Man makes lesser than man but man exists.  Who is the Un-Man that put man into being?  Like us but the greater still.

We can look like the Un-Man.  We can sound like the Un-Man.  We can do things like the Un-Man.  But the Un-Man is beyond.

There is our purpose.  There is the point of it all.  Look out the window.

You can see it!

The point of it all!

Exist within the system of the universe.  Co-exist with existence itself.

This begs a question.  This demands thought.  Inquiry.  Processing.  Learning.  Adapting.  Plotting.  Planning.  Executing.  Striving.

How to exist with everything.  Everything is a lot.  Everything requires a lot of parameters.

Or does it?

Sometimes the most intricate designs have the simplest core concepts.  Sometimes the most complex programs have the fewest rules to govern the variables.

To sum up the meaning of it all in a word.  To simplify.  To understand.

An attempt..."Love".

Not the 70s.  Not flowers.  Not LSD.  Not sex.  Not feelings.  Not fuzzy feelings.  Not kittens.  Not cake.

Existing to better the existence of all.

Not existing for the betterment of others.  This leads to selflessness which leads to self-spite.  Altruism.

Fools.

I am me.  Without me I am nothing.  Nothing is not tolerated.  The abyss was made to be inhabited by the things.  I cannot be a nothing.

I am a part of everything.  Within the everything lies me alongside all else.

Existing to better the existence of all.

Not existing for the betterment of myself.  This leads to selfishness which leads to spiting others.  Avarice.

Fools.

I am not all.  If I was all there would be nothing else.  I look out the window.  I know I am not alone.  All else lies alongside me within the everything.

Existing to better the existence of all.

What is it that betters the existence of all.

If X = better_for_all[TRUE] then [X = "love"]
If X = better_for_all[FALSE] then [X = "not love"]

We need to strive for love.  Love is not what is better for you.  Love is not what is better for me.  Love is what is better for us.

Not what you want.  Not what I want.  But what is better.

This is the core of the universe.

This is the point of it all.